MVP
by acaudill0068
Summary: Rachel and Puck have a little conversation in the choir room about Finn and Lauren.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Little Puckleberry drabble that's been sitting on my laptop for a while now and I'm just now getting around to finishing it. I came up with the idea ages ago but after watching 'Original Song' I changed it up a bit. It's a little short but I'm happy with how this turned out. Hope you guys do too.

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><p>Puck was packing up his guitar after Glee when he noticed that the only other person still in the choir room was Rachel. He set the guitar case down on his chair and walked down to sit beside her on the piano stool.<p>

"What's up my hot little Jewish American princess?" He asked, just trying to make her smile.

She glances over at him but doesn't say anything. She just sits there on the bench next to him, holding her little MVP trophy and admiring it.

"You deserved it." He told her. "You were great up there at Regional's. That song was amazing."

"Thank you." She finally spoke up.

"It would have been better if you weren't singing it about Finn." He said and she tensed. "Don't get mad; I'm just giving you my honest opinion."

"How do you know I was singing about Finn?" She asked.

"It was kind of obvious. What I don't get though is why in the hell you're still pining after him. You would think that a girl as smart as you would have learned from last year." He said from beside her and she shifted on the bench.

"He still loves me." Rachel whispered.

"Then why is he with Quinn right now?" Puck knew he was being mean but he didn't understand how Rachel was so oblivious to how douche-y Finn was to her all of the time.

"He just hasn't realized that he belongs with me. He's going to forgive me. It's just going to take some time." Rachel let out a breath.

"Forgive you? Rach, if he loved you as much as you think he does, he would have forgiven you months ago. If he can forgive Quinn for doing what she did with me, he can damn well forgive you for kissing me."

"It's not that simple, Noah." She shook her head.

"Let's not forget that Finnessa isn't innocent in all of this. He's not the fucking Saint you all play him up to be. He might be dumber than a stick but he knew what he was doing when he showed up to that hotel room with Santana. He knew how upset you would be and that's exactly why he lied about it. He has no right to be mad at you."

"I kissed you, Noah. I made out with in my bed while I was dating Finn. He trusted me and I betrayed him." Rachel jumped up from the seat and glared at the mohawked boy.

"How about when he started dating you last year right after he found out about me being Quinn's baby daddy? You trusted him not to break your heart and he dumped to go out with Santana and Brittany. Or how about when he told he loved you at Regional's last year and the second our junior year began he started being an ass?"

"He loves me." Rachel repeated.

"How about when he kissed Quinn knowing that she was with Sam? How about how he tried several times to get her to cheat with him? How is that any different than what we did, Rachel?" Puck stood up as well, just as fired up as Rachel was.

"That's completely different." She retorted.

"Really? 'Cause it sounds to me like a shitty double standard. You and every other girl in this damn school think that he is perfect. Let me tell you something, when you two were dating this summer, I was one that was convincing him to keep going out with you. Do you know how many times he would tell me that he wanted to break up with you? Do you know how many times I planned you and Hudson's dates because the best he could come up with was taking you to a fast-food drive-thru?" Puck stepped towards her and she squared her jaw. "You might be in love with him but he's never going to love you back the way you want him to. It's always been Quinn; it's always going to be Quinn and the sooner you get that through you're thick skull the better we'll all be. I am so tired of watching you mooning over that asshole. He's not worth it. Do you know how many times he's made cry just in the past few months? Do you know how many times he actually cares that he's hurting you? I can assure you it's close to none. The entire time you were singing 'Get it Right' the other day he was holding Quinn's hand and smiling. He doesn't care that he's broken your heart countless times. He doesn't care, Rachel."

"You're being really mean." She tried not to let the tears build up in her eyes.

"Fuck, Rachel." He sighed. "All I'm trying to say is that… you don't need anybody to tell you how great you are… you used to know that all on your own."

He was surprised when he saw her face contort in anger and she narrowed her eyes at him. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Puck matched her gaze.

"You've spent the last few months trying to 'woo' Lauren? It's ridiculous. Since when does Noah Puckerman ever try that hard to get a girl?"

"I like her." Puck defended himself.

"She is constantly putting you down and she's horrible to you, Noah." Rachel shook her head. "She's not worth it and for some reason you have it stuck in your head that you two could work out. You say that I'm changing for Finn, what about how you've changed for her?"

"I haven't changed for anyone." Puck rolled his eyes.

"The Noah Puckerman I knew wouldn't go out of his way to get a girls attention. You were always so proud and adamant about doing songs strictly by Jewish artists, Noah. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think anyone from Queen is Jewish."

"Don't go comparing Lauren to Finn." Puck stepped towards her again.

"How is what she doing any different than what Finn is doing?" She crossed her arms. "They are both just stringing us along."

Puck felt his stomach drop at her words. He took a deep breath and looked away from Rachel.

"Maybe…" Rachel sighed. "Maybe we should try to move on. Forget about Finn and about Lauren. I think that maybe what you're saying might have some truth to it. Maybe Finn and I don't belong together but neither do you and Lauren. You used to know how great you were too, but it seems like ever since you started this thing with Lauren you're changing, Noah, and not for the better." She took a few steps towards him. "You shouldn't have to change yourself for someone else. If Lauren can't see how amazing you are all on your own, then she doesn't deserve you in the first place."

"I could say the same thing about you." Puck looked back at her. "You spent all of last year trying to fit into this damn girlfriend cutout Finn had. It's not you, Rachel."

She nodded. "Maybe you're right." She sunk back onto the piano bench and Puck soon followed suit.

"I _am_ right." Puck's fingers slid across the keys. "I'll make you deal. I'll help you get over Finn and you can help me break up with Lauren. I'm going to need witnesses because I'm about 104% sure she's going to try to break every bone in my body when I tell her it's over."

Rachel laughed softly. "How are you going to help me with Finn?"

"Remember that girl last year that was talking about Broadway and New York and how she was going to take them both by storm? I'm going to help you find her again." Puck smiled over at her, nudging her shoulder with his own softly.

"I would like to get her back." Rachel nodded once, smiling as well.

Puck was right, Lauren was mad when he called it quits a week later but as he sat in his kitchen with a black eye and Rachel standing over him, holding an ice pack to his face as she teased him for getting beaten up by a girl he couldn't help but think that he had done the right thing. The amusement in Rachel's eyes as she laughed made Puck think that maybe she was thinking the exact same thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Glee.

A/N: MVP was meant to be a one-shot but this idea has been stuck in my head for a while now so I figured I would add a part two. Personally, I love this, especially the ending. Puck may seem a tad bit OOC in this so I apologize in advance. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed and I hope this part doesn't disappoint too much.

Just a warning, this contains some Finn bashing but seriously, Finn's a douche and someone really needs to point this out on the show. I think Puck would be the perfect person to pop Finn's massive ego. And in case you haven't noticed, I kind of hate Finn Hudson, probably a little more than a person should hate a fictional character...

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><p>"What's going on with you and Puckerman?" Finn walked up to Rachel while she was at her locker after Glee. "You two have been hanging out a lot lately and it's just weird because I thought you two hated each other."<p>

"Nothing is going on between Noah and me." Rachel blew out a breath and turned to face Finn. "Not that it's any of your business if something was going on."

"Wait?" He shook his head. "So something is going on?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, Finn." She quietly shut her locker.

"Are you sure? Because he broke up with Lauren a month ago and now he's all buddy-buddy with you. Don't you find that suspicious?"

"I don't." She shook her head. "Noah and I are just friends. He's helping me, that's all."

"Helping you with what?"

Rachel glanced past Finn to see Puck making his way towards her locker. "Look, Finn, I don't have time for this right now." She brushed past him and walked towards Noah, who was still looking at Finn suspiciously. "Actually, I don't think I'll ever have time to have this conversation with you."

"You okay?" Puck asked.

"I'm fine." She nodded to reassure him. "Let's go."

"You lied." Finn spoke up. "You are messing with Puckerman."

"What?" Puck looked from Rachel to Finn. "What the fuck are you talking about, Hudson?"

"I'm talking to Rachel." Finn glared at Puck. "Not you."

"Yea, well now you're talking to me." Puck stepped in front of Rachel and she grabbed his bicep to stop him.

"Noah, it's okay. Let's just go." Rachel whispered.

"What are you doing with him, Rachel?" Finn asked. "I never thought you'd stoop so low as Puckerman." He shook his head. "You could do a lot better."

"Come on, Noah." Rachel pulled on his arm but he shook her off and she was tempted to just close her eyes so she didn't have to see the scene that was unraveling in front of her. "Please don't do something stupid. You're still on probation, Noah."

"I'm just going to have a nice conversation with Finn." Puck squared his jaw. "I'm not going to pound his face in… yet."

"Noah." Rachel warned but she knew it was futile, so instead she chose to just watch the two boys stare each other down. She would, however, step in before any blows could be delivered.

"I don't understand what she's doing with you." Finn shook his head. "She had me and now she's settling for you."

Puck ground his teeth and clenched his fist, taking a small step to close the space between him and Finn. "I think you need to back off before I end up punching you in the jaw."

"You're pathetic. You really are." Finn snorted. "I can't believe I was ever friends with you. You promised you would stay away from Rachel. You promised you wouldn't go after her and now you're sneaking around with her behind my back. Some friend you are."

"You want to know what Rachel's doing with me?" Puck asked loudly. "She's trying to get over you, asshole. She's trying to pick up the pieces after you dumped her. She's trying to figure out what the hell she wants but every time you look at her she turns to goo again. She turns into this annoying, needy girl that no one likes." Puck shook his head. "You think you are God's gift to women and you think you can do whatever you want to anybody and get away with it. You really need a reality check, Finn. Someone needs to beat the shit out of you and I'm just the person to do it."

"Noah." Rachel grabbed his arm again, sensing he was reaching his boiling point.

"You want to know what I'm doing with Rachel? I'm trying to fix what you broke!" Puck yelled at Finn, who stepped back suddenly. "You say you love her and then you run back to Quinn with your tail between your legs. You treat her like she's some doll you can sit on a shelf until you're ready to play with her again."

"Back off, man." Finn snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You think I'm a Lima loser?" Puck laughed sourly. "Look around, we're _all_ Lima losers. We are all going to be stuck in this shitty town in dead-end jobs that we hate but her…" He looked back at Rachel before fixing his gaze on Finn again. "She's the only one that's going to make something of herself. She's the only one that is going to get out of Ohio and be somebody. She's smart and talented but when she's with you, you just drag her down." Finn frowned and looked over at Rachel, who was staring wide-eyed at Puck, still clinging to his arm. "I'm trying to make her see she doesn't need you. But fuck, somehow she fell in love with you. She's in love with you and you don't see how much you're hurting her. You don't see how much she needs you to notice her; to notice how great she is. She's in love with you, Hudson." Puck shook his head and stepped back. "I'm just… I'm trying to pick up the pieces of your mistake."

"Noah." Rachel whispered, pulling him back further. "It's okay." She told him. "Come on. It's okay." She led him away from Finn, who was staring after them, confused as to what just happened.

"It's not okay." Puck spoke up once they were parked in her driveway.

She looked over at him curiously. "I'm fine, Noah. Finn… I'm getting over him. I am."

"He hurt you, Rachel. So much, and just fuck… it's not okay what he did to you. He made you feel like crap and he doesn't even care. He didn't even apologize."

"It _is _okay." Rachel told him softly. "If he hadn't hurt me; if he hadn't broken up with me I'd still be with him."

"You're in love with him?" Puck looked over at her.

She nodded, a sad smile gracing her lips. "I am."

"I hate that he doesn't see how fucking great you are." He told her.

"And you do?" She asked quietly.

He smiled at her hesitantly. "I do."

He slid across the seat of his truck towards her and she watched him warily. "Noah." She whispered when he was right in front of her, his breath beating down on her cheek as his eyes searched hers.

"I see you, Rachel." He said. "I see how great you are… and you make me want to be good. You make me want to at least try to be someone; to be something."

"You _are_ something." She replied, her fingertips brushing against his cheek. "To me… you're something to me." She smiled up at him.

Puck leaned forward to brush her lips against hers, wanting to make sure she was okay with this. Her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned towards him. He kissed her again, slowly at first but when she bunched his t-shirt in her hands he moved his lips on hers harder, making her heart pound in her ears.

After a few seconds he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers. She opened her eyes and found his hazel ones staring back at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and his fingers leapt out to brush some hair back from her face. "Fixing you." He replied just as quietly before his lips were on hers again.

She screwed her eyes shut again and thought that maybe he was telling the truth because as his lips moved against hers she could feel the hole in her chest that Finn had made slowly start to hurt just a little bit less.


End file.
